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January 2011

TREES. The word, like bunnies and sparkles, makes me happy. Trees have been important in my life, my whole life. When we lived in Miami, where trees were sometimes sparse, I would make friends with all of the neighborhood trees.

Later, when we were older, we’d camp in the Everglades, which was my first experience with fairy tale forests and faraway places.

After tropical storms and hurricanes, dad knew what was coming. I would sniffle and hiccup until we gathered ropes and stakes and shovels, and search and rescue uprooted trees. Any tree with even a slight chance of survival was staked up with a prayer and a hug.

I knew the secret life of trees. Oh, the stories they could tell! They know the history of the planet better than we do. They love us. They keep us cool. They shelter us from storm. They give us a kaleidoscope of colors and textures and scents. They give us fruit and nuts to eat-and the very air we breathe.

They are guardian angels.

I talk to trees-is that weird? They each have their own individual personality-the same species of tree, planted two feet apart, will grow to look completely different than its sibling. And, they are all wonderful.

For years, I felt so guilty..this thoughtless yuletide tradition of growing trees up just to cut them down, load 'em up, drag them indoors, dress 'em up, deck 'em out in all this shimmering lighted glory-oh the sadness! I feel like an executioner when the tree is defrocked and tossed carelessly by the trash bin or fed to the wood chipper! I was sure we were all going to a treeless hades.

{Though a few times my hippie parents, who were hip to eco-friendly and mother earth, let the tree stay up until it was an official fire hazard. Depending on the freshness of the tree, this could be Valentine’s Day...:) }

That first Christmas with Cowboy, he was perplexed at my odd behavior when the tree came down. Then, once I explained how I felt, he told me he would take it to the magic part of the back woods and replant it, and bunnies and elves would move in and nurture it. How sweet was that?

{And the next year, he bought an artificial tree. }

I have since learned that it’s actually better for the environment to go with a live tree. Artificial trees are mainly made in China, using chemicals, which pollute neighborhoods where factories are. And, when plastic trees "die", they sit in the landfill. So, even though there may be footprints from shipping live Christmas trees, and pesticides used in the caring for those trees, in the end, apparently, it’s ecologically better to buy a live tree. So I am told....

...but a tree didn't tell me that. So, I am for now sticking to my firmly "rooted" belief that they prefer I celebrate with a duplicate-and maybe buy one to plant in the regular part of our woods though I think it's all a bit magical). :)